If You Have To Ask

*The title of this post was taken from the Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the same name*

If you’re struggling to reach your goals or you haven’t quite started on the path towards reaching them, there are three questions I would encourage you to ask yourself:

First, how important is your goal (or why are you motivated to change?)

Whether you’re trying to lose fat, hit a new record in the gym, or just feel better how motivated are you to reach it?

Does your life (or health) significantly improve when you get there?

The reason you’ll want to answer this question is because you will likely find yourself in many scenarios where the drive and ambition to reach your goal will falter. If you know how important it is for you to reach your goal, motivation will not be an obstacle you will have in your way as often.

Second, what are you willing to sacrifice to reach your goal?

Achieving anything with your physique will require some type of sacrifice, maybe several of them. This can include the time you need to meal prep, the time you will commit to a gym or a workout routine you do on your own, and possibly some sacrifice of your social life to stay on track.

Third, how sustainable is your plan?

If you’re embarking on a regimen of high intensity bootcamps, crash diets, juice cleanses or celebrity endorsed fads to reach your goal, you not only stand to burn out and get discouraged but regain everything you lost with a vengeance.

Looking at this differently, imagine you want a promotion at work. That’s your goal.

If you get the promotion, not only will you be involved in something that is of greater interest to you but you also get the boost on your resume and the upside of better salary. With those things maybe you can finally afford a family vacation and you won’t have to work as many hours as you do in your current position. These are some motivators to get to your goal.

To get the promotion, you will have to work harder, longer and with more focus to get the attention and respect of upper management thereby putting you in position for the promotion. By doing so, you may have to work some weekends, take away time from family and friends (temporarily) and prioritize other work tasks to be completed more efficiently. These are your sacrifices.

You’ll also have to give yourself a reasonable timeline. Maybe you’re willing to work this way for six months but not for two years. This is your plan of sustainability at a given rate.

This same process of thoughts with advantages and benefits would apply to your fitness goals as well. You need to know where you want to go, why it’s appealing and ultimately what it would take to get there.

Another thing to consider is that you may have to revisit these questions multiple times along the way. A goal that is important to you now may not be important in three months. Or you may find yourself more willing to adapt to change later as opposed to now.

There’s no wrong answer. Only the candor you owe to yourself to decide your best path to success.